Pass case



B. S. BERGER Nov. 16, 1954 PASS CASE Filed March 3, 1954 34 INVENTOR. flaw/1mm 6. 5596679 AWOPNEY ite size display folder for-smallpapers such, for :instance, as photographs, tickets, licenses, membership cards,

. credit cards and identification cards.

Quite often pass cases :are constructed forattachment to a billfold, and the presentipass case :is. of this' nature; it is to be understood,nevertheless, tthat such-"construction is by way of. example only and is not to be' taken as limitative.

It is an object of my invention to. providea :pass case of novel construction which can: at the :users optionidisplay either of two sets of .papers.

It is another object of my. invention to :provide a pass case having two sets of plural transparent display: sheets mounted and arrangedrfor selective exhibition o'f 'either set at the users option.

It is another object of 'my invention to prov-idea Ipass case of the character described whichdespite its unique attributes constitutes relatively few andrsimple pa'rts, and is inexpensive to make-and easyto use.

Other objects ofmy invention will .inxpartrbe obvious and in part will be-pointed out1=hereinafter.

My invention according-1y consists-1 in 'thenfeatures of construction, combinations of "elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified inlthe construction hereinafter described, and of which thescope ofapplication will be indicated inthe appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which iswshown one of the various possible embodiments of -my invention,

Fig. l is a fragmentary plan view of an open billfold having mounted thereon a pass case embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the pass case asit appears with one end of .the display section disconnected and partially extended;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view through the pass casein the position-illustrated in' Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken substantially along the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a schematic'vi'ew"illustrating one of two alternate manners for connecting the display section to the support panel;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig.'5 but showing-the other, manner for connecting said display section;

Fig. 7 is a schematic view of-the. pass case with the display section thereofconne'cted in'the manner of Fig. 5 and arranged to show only one set of papers; and

Fig. 8 is a view similar to FigfiT but illustrating the display section as it appears when arranged to show only the other set of papers.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 denotes a conventional billfold including two halves 12, 14 joined at a central fold line 16. An inner section of one of the halves as, for example, the half 12, is provided with a pair of parallel transverse slots 18 which are adapted to permit a panel of a pass case 20 to be threaded therethrough whereby detachably to secure the pass case to the billfold. It may be mentioned that this particular method of securing the pass case to the billfold forms no part of the present invention.

Pursuant to my invention the pass case 20 includes a support panel 22 having full width tabs 24, 26 integrally extending from its opposite ends. Said panel is conventionally made from a flexible but not limp material such as leather, a heavy plastic sheet or plastic coated cloth. The pass case also includes a display section 28 States Patent connecting panel.

and is somewhat shorter.

40, 42 of two snap fasteners.

'ment, the panels form a loop shown in Fig. 5 in-that in the loop of Fig. 6 the opposite 2,694,429 Patented Nov. 16, 1954 which es'sentially constitutes several display I panels 30 of the same length and width' arranged inend-to-end relationship'and connected to one another by hinges 32. One-end of the display section 28, i.- e.'-the-free end of one oftheendmost display panels 30, is transversely hingedly secured, preferably permanently, as by a line of stitching34, -to-the support panel. In the preferred form of my invention, this line of stit'ching is located -adj'acent one end of-the support panel, and said panel -22 is slightly longer than any of the display-panels '30 so that if the display panels are stacked with their ends in registration they can be locatedwithin the boundaries of the support panel.

Means-also is included to detachably connect the is joined to the support panel. For this 'purpose I provide a-connecting panel 36 to which-the free end of the-other endmost display-panel 30 isconnected, as by'a transverse line of stitching38 located nearan "endof 'the Said connecting panel preferably'is fabricated from the same material as the support panel The connecting panel 36-is provided on one surface thereof with two'spaced halves of-a detachable connecting means, e. g. the male halves The female halves '44, 46 of said snap fasteners are mounted on the tabs 24, 26 respectively. Said female halves are so located with respectto the male halves that, when the display panels 30 arecollapsedinto fiat stacked position on the support panel 22 with the connecting panel 36 disposed on top of the uppermost display panel and the tabs 24, 26 turned in to overlie the connecting panel, the male snap fastener half 40 will be in registration with the female snap fastener half 44 and the male snap fastener half '42 lwill be in registrationwith the female snap fastener alf 40.

'In Fig. 5 I have shown the position of the display panelsysupport panel and connecting panel when the snap fastener halves 40,- 44 are coupled.

It, therefore, will be seen that the threekinds of panels mutually form a closed loop having an inner sideand an outer side;

that is tosay, each of the display panelsin this loop will have one side facing outwardly and one side facing inwardly.

In Fig. 6 I haveshown the display" panels, support panel and'connecting'panel as-they appear whenthe snap fastener halves 42, 46 are coupled. With this arrangediifering from the-loop sides of the display panels 30 are outermost; that is'to say, the sides of the panels which in the Fig. 5 position faced inwardly of the loop face outwardly of the-loop in the Fig. 6 position, due to the fact that =the points of detachable connection'of the outermost panel are on opposite sides of the line of stitching 34 which permanently-secures the other end of the display section to the support panel.

For the purpose ofexplainin'g the manner in which the-alternate displayof oneor another set of papers is controlled by the user, let it beassumed-that the display panels are in a stack on the support panel 22 with alternate hinges disposed at opposite ends of the support panel. This is the position the display panels will assume if collapsed from the partly extended position illustrated in Fig. 2. Let it further be assumed that the connecting panel 36 is laid flat on top of the outermost display panel, that the two tabs 24, 26 overlie the uppermost, i. e. exposed, surface of the connecting panel, and that the two halves of both snap fasteners are coupled as shown in Fig. 1. In this position every other hinge is at one end of the pass case and the remaining hinges at the other end.

If now one of the snap fasteners is uncoupled, for instance the snap fastener constituting the two halves 42, 46, the display panels can be swung like the pages of a book about the hinges at the end of the pass case opposite from the end at which the opened snap fastener is located. This is true of either of the two snap fasteners, that is to say, if the right-hand snap fastener (as viewed in Fig. 1) is opened the display panels can be swung about the left-hand end of the pass case and if the left-hand snap fastener is opened the display panels can be swung about the right-hand end of the pass case.

Moreover, as has been pointed out earlier, when one of the snap fasteners is coupled and the other uncoupled, one side of the display panels will face outermost (see Fig. 5) and when these conditions are reversed the other side of the display panels will face outwardly (see Fig. 6). Therefore, when the snap fastener constituted by the halves 42, 46 is uncoupled and all the display panels can be viewed by swinging the same about the hinges at the left-hand side of the pass case, only one side of each display panel will be visible. When this snap fastener is recoupled and the other snap fastener uncoupled so that the display panels can be swung only about the hinges at the right-hand end of the pass case only the other side ofthe display panels will be visible. These two different positions are illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. I

It will be appreciated that papers such as photographs, tickets, licenses, membership cards, credit cards, identification cards and the like can be secured in any suitable fashion on both sides of each of the display panels. By way of example, I have illustrated a construction for the display panels which greatly simplifies mounting. More specifically, the display section of the pass case illustrated herein comprises an elongated wide ribbon 48 of flexible limp material, for example a highly plasticized synthetic resin film-forming polymer or an elastomeric plastic, such as a vinyl copolymer, said ribbon preferably being slightly narrower than the support panel 22.

The ribbon is threaded through an end-to-end series of open-ended fiat envelopes 50, the length of the ribbon being slightly more than the combined lengths of the envelopes.

The envelopes are fabricated from a stiff transparent material, for example a clear pellicle of cellulose acetate, and serve to contain cards, pictures and the like. Each envelope constitutes a single oblong sheet of material, the length of which is somewhat greater than twice the width of the ribbon. The sheet is formed with folds 52, 54 parallel to its ends, one fold 52 being spaced from an end a distance about equal to the width of the ribbon and the other fold being spaced from the first fold a distance slightly greater than the width of the ribbon whereby a narrow transverse strip 56 is provided adjacent the second fold under which the end of the sheet remote from the second fold may be tucked to effect closing of the envelope.

The envelopes are captively retained on the ribbon in an end-to-end series by the connecting panel 36 and are free because of the slight extra length of the ribbon to shift slightly longitudinally of said ribbon. This shifting movement enables adjacent envelopes to be spaced apart slightly so as to provide narrow unconfined por tions of the ribbon which serve as hinges 32 between adjacent envelopes and between the endmost envelope and the support and connecting panels.

Outwardly facing cards C are disposed on opposite sides of the ribbon under opposite faces of the envelopes.

It thus will be seen that there is provided a pass case which achieves the several objects of the invention and is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein described, or shown in the accompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A pass case comprising a plurality of display panels, hinge means interconnecting said panels in end-to-end relationship, a support member, hinge means connecting the free end of one of the endmost display panels to the support member, and means detachably connecting the free end of the other endmost display panel to the support member on either one side or the other, as the user desires, of the first-named connecting means.

2. A pass case comprising a plurality of display panels, hinge means interconnecting said panels in end-to-end relationship, a support panel, hinge means connecting the free end of one of the endmost display panels to the support panel, and means detachably connecting the free end of the other endmost display panel to the support panel on either one side or the other, as the user desires, of the first-named connecting means, the display panels being of substantially the same length and being slightly shorter than the support panel.

3. A pass case comprising a support panel having tabs extending from opposite ends thereof, a plurality of display panels, hinge means interconnecting said display panels in end-to-end relationship, a hinge connecting the free end of one of the endmost display panels to the support panel adjacent an end thereof, a connecting panel, a hinge connecting the free end of the other endmost panel to the connecting panel, a first coupling means comprising two detachably engageable halves, one half of one of said coupling means being mounted on one of said tabs, one half of the other coupling means being mounted on the other tab, and the remaining halves of said coupling means being mounted in spaced relationship on said connecting panel.

4. A pass case comprising a support panel, a plurality of display panels, flexible hinges interconnecting said display panels in end-to-end relationship, a flexible hinge connecting the free end of one of the endmost display panels to the support panel, and means detachably connecting the free end of the other endmost display panel to the support panel on either one side or the other, as the user desires, of the first-named connecting means.

5. A pass case comprising a support panel, an elongated limp flexible ribbon secured at one end thereof to the support panel, a plurality of separate transparent envelopes threaded on said ribbon endwise with the end edges of adjacent envelopes slightly spaced from one another, and means for detachably connecting the other end of the ribobn to the support panel on either one side or the other, as the user desires, of the zone where the ribbon is secured to said support panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,431,472 Fistell Nov. 25, 1947 2,458,729 Politzer Jan. 11, 1949 2,634,777 Berger Apr. 14, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 7,458 Great Britain Mar. 27, 1902 

